Deputies with the Bee County Sheriff’s Office are warning rural residents to watch out for strange vehicles and strangers coming to their doors after a rash of home burglaries in the countryside.

Deputy Capt. Dan Caddell said this week that at least 10 residential burglaries have been reported in the last week.

“They’re happening all over, on Viggo Road, on FM 797, on FM 888, at Lonesome Oak and across from Skid-mart on U.S. 181,” Caddell said.

Most of the burglaries apparently have been committed during daylight hours when the occupants were at work.

Caddell said the burglars are walking up to people’s front doors, knocking and when they do not get an answer they either open the unlocked doors or kick open the doors.

The thieves are taking just about anything they can find of value.

“Jewelry, guns, flat-screen TVs, you name it,” Caddell said.

The deputy is urging people to take as many precautions as possible. That includes keeping vehicles locked, leaving air conditioners on in the house, leaving a radio or television on in the house and anything else that might make a burglar think someone is at home.

However, the most important thing for people in the countryside to do is remain vigilant and report anything they see that is out of the ordinary.

“Report strange vehicles, report strangers who come up to your door and knock, asking for someone you don’t know or asking for work.”

“And report it right away,” Caddell said. “Don’t wait for hours to call us. Even if you think it’s nothing.”

Many of the burglaries appear to be the work of the same people but there could be others involved as well.

Deputies have increased their patrols in the areas where the burglars have struck. Even though the deputies know the neighborhoods and are able to spot strange people and vehicles, no one is better equipped to notice activities out of the ordinary than people who live in the area.